The Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine was inaugurated at the University of Chicago in 1970. Its mission is to facilitate studies in the history of science and medicine by students, post doctoral scholars, and faculty with interest in this field. It lends particular support to Ph.D. students pursuing the history of science. It maintains close cooperative relations with the Department of History and the Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science.

Graduate study in the history of science and medicine can lead to a Ph.D. degree through either the Department of History or the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science. An extremely flexible program enables students to draw on a wide range of formal courses and seminars. At the same time it is possible to define programs of individual study that can accommodate the specific needs of persons with quite different backgrounds and interests. Arrangements are normally made with science departments when further technical training or supervision seems advisable. Additional training and supervision are available through the co-operation of historians of science and medicine at other universities throughout the nation.

Programs are designed for those who wish to investigate the sciences and medicine in their religious, philosophical, literary and technological contexts, and to relate them to broad questions of social structure and cultural change. Requirements are listed under the Department of History and the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science. Additional information describing the program and the types of financial aid available to students may be obtained on the center’s web site: http://fishbein.uchicago.edu/ or by writing the Administrative Assistant of the Center, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 (bethcalderon@uchicago.edu).

Courses

A listing of courses representative of those offered by members of the center is available at the CHSS website.